There was once a little stone that lived on the bottom
of a crystal clear and bubbling stream that ran through a green valley
sprinkled with trees and shrubs. Life in
the stream was quite boring for the stone.
It felt the passing of the water which rubbed it day after day but it
was hardly aware that it was being polished into bright smoothness. It watched the sun and the moon play with
their reflections in the water and the fish whirl and jump in the dancing light. But the stone always thought that there must
be more to the world than the stream bed and wondered if someday it would have
the chance to escape from the seemingly eternal routine of bubbles, water, and
light.
One day, without any warning, the stone suddenly felt
itself being lifted out of the water.
For just an instant it was able to see the valley and some of the blue
sky, but in the very next instant it felt itself stuffed into a dark bag full
of other stones. It was a very
uncomfortable place for at times it smashed against the other stones as the bag
bounced up and down. Little did it know
that in the process, it was being changed and molded in the process. It missed
the tranquility of the stream.
The stone did not know how much time
had passed when the bag was opened and light poured in. It rolled out along with the other stones
onto something soft and felt itself turned over and set apart. For just another moment, the stone looked out
on the world to see the beauty of the green and the blue bathed in the sun’s
glare, but for just a moment because now it was placed all alone in a rough
piece of leather. Then it panicked for
the leather began twirling rapidly in the air and the stone became very
dizzy. Just when it thought it would
faint with fright, it was flung into the air.
What joy! Now it could see
everything below! It could see the
stream, the grass, the trees, the mountains in the distance, and many men
dressed in shiny armor and helmets and holding up swords. The trip ended quickly for it had just taken
in an eyeful when it crashed into something hard. The stone then fell to the ground.
A few seconds later it felt something heavy land
beside it and the earth shook with the fallen weight. Then something picked the stone up again and
a voice said, “Just the little stone I needed and at the moment I needed it.”
And the stone returned to the dark bag where it continued with the other stones
until it was again needed.
This is the story of David and
the giant Goliath, but from the perspective of the little stone and it is a metaphor
of my life, objectives and dreams. Sometimes I have been sitting in the stream
waiting for something exciting to happen in my
life but didn’t realize that God was polishing me and preparing me. Sometimes I have been in the dark bag where
I have clashed with others and complained of the disagreeable and painful
situations I am in. But God uses the
bumping and the dark times to teach me patience and confidence in Him. Here also I am being molded and readied. Sometimes I feel dizzy, in a whirling sling
of activities, running crazy with thousands of things to do and hardly a moment
to catch my breath. Sometimes I have the
opportunity to fly through the air, and with a clarity of vision, I feel the
ecstasy of my goal in sight. And sometimes, I am smashing up against giants,
hoping against hope that the aim and thrust have been just right to bring it
down. The Bible says that God didn’t
look at David’s size, strength, or
outward appearance but looked at his heart. I God’s hands, and with God’s power and
perfect aim, I can be a little stone used to bring down the giants of these
times.
